iMediaConnection Bloghttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com
Blogs.imediaconnection.comTue, 03 Mar 2015 17:29:17 +0000http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2enhourly1Supergate Lenovo: How and why does that even happen?http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/27/supergate-lenovo-how-and-why-does-that-even-happen/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/27/supergate-lenovo-how-and-why-does-that-even-happen/#commentsFri, 27 Feb 2015 17:16:29 +0000Kevin Ryanhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=39007... Read more]]>Lenovo has officially gone into the tech betrayal record books with "Supergate." "Or is it fish bait?" If you have no idea what I'm talking about (not to get into it), I'm referring to the recent "discovery" that some adware (aka, pushware, bloatware, or -- in some circles -- malware) disguised as a utility was preloaded on Lenovo machines as of fall 2014 and early 2015.

Unbeknownst to and much to the chagrin of many Lenovo customers, the story took a turn for the OMFG when said prepackaged software was also determined to be a security risk. Then (and only then) we started to see Lenovo head in the "oops, we're sorry" direction.

Let's face it: In what world does anyone who has been working in marketing in the last 15 years look at a utility that might be construed as malware and think, "Well, that's a good idea. What could possibly go wrong?"

If you don't know what adware is, you shouldn't be anywhere near a digital marketing strategy. Yet for some reason -- and this is just an educated guess -- I really don't think marketing was anywhere near this one. Well, until the crisis people were called in anyway.

The bloat problem and history repeats itself

Software bloat is always couched on the value add proposition, and PC manufacturers are notorious for loading up new machines with resource draining software. Manufacturers have been dealing with downward pricing pressure for quite some time. and they have to protect their revenue at all costs. It's gotten so bad that many people just wipe their new machines as part of their unboxing ritual.

Speaking of protecting revenue at all costs, if any of this sounds familiar, the "déjà haven't we been here before" factor is really high with Supergate. Does the Sony BMG rootkit scandal sound at all familiar? That was almost was 10 years ago, and the rollout should be pretty familiar:

Wasn't that interesting? The main difference between Supergate and Rootkit was the timeline. Supergate has only taken months, not years to unfold. Of course, lawsuit outcomes are unlikely to be accelerated by social influences, but since the news and outrage cycle has shortened to about 30 seconds in the past 10 years, Supergate social outrage is already winding down.

Due to its short life and high frequency, it's fair to say social media is the gift that just keeps on giving. The cycle is simple: Get upset, initiate social outrage, and 30 seconds later, go back to watching panda bears make poopy noises until you find something else to get upset about. The social universe is desperate for a cause, and corporate America delivers a new one almost daily.

Five years later, the lawyers behind the class action suits get a big fat payout, and everyone that bought an "infected" computer gets a check for 25 cents in the mail. By then, no one can remember why.

Disinfected communication wins

Here's how stuff like this happens. And will continue to happen. It's another simple and easy to understand problem: a classic example of the right hand having no idea what the left hand is doing.

Let's see if the following hypothetical (and in no way related to this situation) scenario makes sense. Tech thinks it's protecting revenue and adding margin. Since no one deemed informing marketing a priority, the exciting new technology that affords a better [insert user experience here] with a great pitch deck, solid Silicon Valley funding, and a little industry press gets bundled into your product, and your brand equity is temporarily (or permanently, depending how far you push it) tarnished.

Another plausible hypothetical is that marketing knew all about it and fell in love with the pitch deck and promises. Technologies like [insert cute name] are pitched and added using only hype and short-term revenue projections with total disregard for the brand or any long-term equity (if that concept is still valid) it may represent.

Silicon Valley tech is notorious for never asking if one should do something, only if it can be done. As long as the lawyers haven't told them not to, that's a green light. Ironically, they all claim to be revolutionizing everything and making the world a better place. Just ask them. Watch this 1:30 parody. You won't be sorry, and yes, it's really like that.

Second intermission…

See what I mean?

One of the many things I would have done differently in this situation is apologize faster and deeper. Only after a third party pointed out security concerns did Lenovo own up the situation. In all the social outrage and pundit fodder, the marketing folks are nowhere to be found. Other than not offering a dedicated support line (as opposed to publishing "how to" documents), the biggest gaff in this situation lies in letting the tech guys talk to the press. The story ended up sounding like it was being told by a Gomer Pyle cyborg. The "we only check our own software" (not third parties) followed closely by the "surprise surprise" defense will ultimately suffice; it's just sad that so many brands are striving for "suffice."

No sir, the only action that will facilitate change is a measureable loss in revenue. And since 30 seconds of social outrage doesn't seem to be able to do it, we can expect a lot more of these. For now, since the consuming public also seems to be happy to buy a hammer spitting out ads for nails, don't expect change any time soon.

Post script

As I sit here typing away on my Lenovo X1 Carbon, am I going to be one of those people who says, "I'll never buy another Lenovo product"? Nah, I already did that with Apple, and I'm tired of inconveniencing and limiting my own options as a result of getting shafted by a company. People say I should do that with Uber, but those same people are riding in yellow cabs that smell like an ash tray at the bottom of a trash bin. And I'm also tired of inconveniencing myself in a protest that nets out zero change for the consuming public.

I will continue to buy Lenovo machines because I like them. They are tough as nails, they put up with tons of abuse, and they work. The business machines are fast and consistently innovative. I have yet to be disappointed with a Lenovo machine. I'm willing to deal with tidying up the machine when I buy it, which brings me to my final thought: If anyone with half a brain (like me) can and will remove your bloatware, should you change the value proposition accordingly?

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/27/supergate-lenovo-how-and-why-does-that-even-happen/feed/0Facebook Reach – Back To The Futurehttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/26/facebook-reach-back-to-the-future/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/26/facebook-reach-back-to-the-future/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 16:50:47 +0000Katya Constantinehttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=39003Welcome to the new Facebook feed

As you’ve probably noticed, your Facebook feed is looking different again last few months. Gone are the viral cat videos and the incessantly repetitive “please please share the press release about the launch of our Moon office” posts. Back at the top of the feed are your friends’ posts - even if Facebook continues to insist on showing you the halftime wisecracks from a game two days ago. And along with that you are now seeing more paid ads from the brands who are happy to pay for the privilege of showing you their ad. Finally, you increasingly can’t shake that deja vu feeling that this one ecommerce site you went to is now chasing you around wherever you go - but that must be just a coincidence, right? Well, we’ll get back to that.

In 2014, Facebook conducted user feedback to understand how users use their platform and what they think of the advertising and brand posts in their Newsfeed. There was a strong response from users saying that they are much more interested in seeing updates from friends than brands promoting their products. And Facebook listened. In 2015, it’s making major algorithm changes, especially as it relates to the promotional content in the Newsfeed. The Newsfeed now favors conversations among friends and paid advertising, reducing the presence of organic promotional posts from businesses.

So, all in all, you are probably happier now as a user. After all, your relationship with Facebook is increasingly similar to your relationship with free TV, just more interactive - as long as you get the experience you like, you certainly don’t mind the ad interruptions, because you know they are a part of the deal.

So what do these changes mean to businesses which leverage Facebook?

It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish and what investments you’ve made into doing business on Facebook so far. Here are some key thoughts on what’s gone and where you are probably better off investing your time and money if you are looking to do more business on Facebook.

What’s out?

1. Organic reach

If you want to reach fans that like your page with a promotional post, get ready to pay. Organic reach is no more. Here's what Facebook says makes a post too promotional:

There are some consistent traits that make organic posts feel too promotional:

Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app

Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context

Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads

If a brand wants to promote their product, it is now difficult to do this organically and must instead be done with paid advertising. When brands do post to their page, it should be done in a conversational way that encourages brand interest and loyalty, as opposed to overtly promoting products. But let’s be honest -it’s a pay to play world now.

2. Sweepstakes

For the past 2 years, your Newsfeed was filled with sweepstakes large and small as brands sought to increase Facebook page “likes”. The changes in how organic posts are displayed to fans have significantly decreased the value of a “like”. If you plan to run a sweepstakes, you are better off doing it on your site and capturing the user’s email address.

3. Paying for Facebook “likes”

While you can still do this, you'll have to pay money to reach these users even after they like your page. You are better off using your money for Facebook ads to reach new targeted audience from the beginning.

What works now?

1. Paid ads

By moving away from organic reach and virality, Facebook is essentially encouraging businesses to pay for Facebook advertising. Luckily, Facebook has an extremely robust advertising platform which makes it possible to create highly targeted campaigns that align to your business objectives. With geographic, demographic and interest data all at your disposal, you can serve ads to an extremely defined audience. Plus these paid ads will be competing with a less cluttered Newsfeed as organic promotional posts become less common.

2. Retargeting

So remember that ad that was following you around? That’s because retargeting works and you’ll be seeing more and more of it on Facebook. Facebook offers one of the most efficient platforms for retargeting. Why - you may ask? Facebook reaches 699 Million (61%) of active users daily. It allows for both traditional content retargeting ads as well as dynamic retargeting ad units. The best part is that it offers 21x higher CTR over traditional web retargeting and significantly cheaper. As a result, it’s now accessible to even the smallest of brands, especially with tools like Perfect Audience.

Change is the only constant

These changes are also a part of a bigger trend among big social media players as they inevitably mature and are forced to move from growing their user bases and engagement levels to effectively monetizing their platforms. Just in the past couple of weeks, we’ve also seen Pinterest disallow affiliate links in pins, Linkedin cut off API access for most developers and Twitter continue pushing sponsored posts as the main vehicle of engagement for brands.

Facebook is constantly adapting their platform and algorithm, requiring businesses to be agile in their use of its platform. The latest changes confirm Facebook’s move towards a platform which requires brands to pay for advertising in order to reach customers. In 2015, rather than devoting excess resources to content creation and audience building, we certainly recommend that you create and promote highly targeted advertising campaigns which can help you accomplish your business objectives.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/26/facebook-reach-back-to-the-future/feed/03 steps for converging digital video and TV advertising, todayhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/26/3-steps-for-converging-digital-video-and-tv-advertising-today/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/26/3-steps-for-converging-digital-video-and-tv-advertising-today/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 14:00:00 +0000Avi Brownhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38989... Read more]]>It's not exactly news that digital has become one of the fastest growing channels for both media consumption and marketing budgets. Last November, Nielsen reported that the audience for online video was expanding by a whopping 60 percent per month. And while TV isn’t going anywhere, it is being redefined by both technology and the consumer experience. Put simply, TV is becoming more like Digital and Digital Video is becoming more like TV every day.

It’s time to step back and look at TV and Digital Video advertising together. Internet-connected devices are no longer just for marketing experiments—they’re a necessary part of an impactful video marketing mix. The time has come to plan, execute and measure a single video strategy across all screens.

So how can marketers and agencies make this happen? Here are three steps to get things moving in the right direction, today:

Step 1: Tear Down the Walls

Media agencies have been working in silos for decades. Broadcast teams rarely communicate with their Digital counterparts, and for the most part, that made sense—until very recently. For several years, the content and ads consumed online were very different from those consumed on television. The resulting media strategies, operational execution and measurement have been very specific to their respective environments. Different objectives and metrics meant different approaches.

Now that the lines have blurred for consumers’ video media consumption, marketing organizations must follow suit. It’s time to get the TV and Digital Video teams in the same room. There will be several benefits, such as significant savings in operational costs and time, as well as a massive long-term positive impact across entire agencies, holding groups and the marketing departments of brand advertisers themselves.

Step 2: Simplify Workflows

While some advertisers and Digital media vendors may occasionally use or recommend custom video creative or native formats for specific placements or screens, the fact remains that 9 out of 10 video ads that appear in Digital environments are originally created for and air on TV. It’s simply not cost-effective to produce unique creative for every screen or media outlet.

Given this, Digital Video Ad Operations teams should work in lockstep with Broadcast Traffic and Operations teams to ensure the fastest, smoothest workflow and the highest video quality 100% of the time on every screen. There should only be one master version of each video ad that comes from post-production, and you should synchronize your Ad ops teams around that creative and utilize smart technologies that enable them to work together in a single, streamlined workflow.

Step 3: Measure Everything

According to a study conducted by Nielsen, media campaigns that include both TV and Digital Video are more effective than media plans that only include one or the other. The study cites increased ROI quantified with at least four key brand lift metrics: general recall, brand recall, message recall and likeability.

The sequence in which a campaign’s creative is viewed makes a difference, too. Being exposed to an ad creative in a Digital environment first enhances the impact of the TV exposure and vice-versa. In short, the most effective video campaigns are not focused on Digital or TV—they’re focused on both. With this in mind, it’s important for advertisers to measure everything and communicate so everyone understands the campaign’s goals, and the appropriate tools are used to achieve and measure them.

There will, of course, be challenges as video advertising converges. Brand marketers and agency leaders must invest in educating their teams to ensure that they understand new technologies and systems. The inertia created by the traditional approach to media planning, buying and measurement must be overcome. Media buyers and sellers must create and maintain new standards. As always, consumer behavior lights the way that our industry must follow. We must evolve to ensure we are constantly maximizing ROI as we follow the consumer down their path.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/26/3-steps-for-converging-digital-video-and-tv-advertising-today/feed/0Women in Tech Industry Still Facing Career Challengeshttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/women-in-tech-industry-still-facing-career-challenges/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/women-in-tech-industry-still-facing-career-challenges/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 02:39:29 +0000Neal Leavitthttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38995... Read more]]>A few months ago a long-standing colleague of mine decided to leave her tech company after 14 years. The pay was good, benefits great, but she came to the realization that she couldn’t breach that proverbial ‘glass ceiling.’ Despite her stellar qualifications, she resigned.

She’s now getting her teaching credential and wants to teach computer programming to high school students. Any high school that hires her will immediately be that much better.

But her story isn’t an isolated one. Tracey Lien recently wrote in the Los Angeles Timesthat women are leaving the tech industry in droves. It’s becoming a significant issue for the tech economy.

“According to the industry group Code.org, computing jobs will more than double by 2020, to 1.4 million,” said Lien. “If women continue to leave the field, an already dire shortage of qualified tech workers will grow worse. Last summer, Google, Facebook, Apple and other big tech companies released figures showing that men outnumbered women 4 to 1 or more in their technical sectors.”

Vivek Wadhwa, a tech entrepreneur and fellow with Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance, said that when women go to venture capitalists seeking financing for their new startups, they are sometimes treated differently from men and held to a higher standard.

In an interview with Stanford News Service, Wadhwa added there are a number of reasons why there are so few women in technology.

“It’s still perceived to be a profession best suited to males. Parents often discourage their daughters from studying engineering because they don’t believe it is for girls. In schools, girls in engineering are ridiculed as tomboys or nerds. When they join the workforce, they may face discrimination,” said Wadhwa.

And on the other side of the pond in the United Kingdom, a survey of more than 600 people in the tech industry taken by The Guardian between Oct. 12 - Nov. 10, 2014 revealed that:

• 73% of both men and women believe the industry to be sexist;
• 52% say women are paid less than men for the same job;
• Structural and cultural sexism is still widespread.

Catalyst, a nonprofit research organization focused on the advancement of women, also analyzed the career paths of almost 10,000 MBA grads from 2007-2014 in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. More than half – 53% - left tech-intensive professions for other work, compared to 31% of the men.

“There is still the ‘brogrammer’ culture in high tech,” said Anna Beninger, Catalyst’s research director. “The tech industry has some significant culture issues, and it’s really damaging their ability to attract the best talent.”

There’s no magic cure-all. Joan C. Williams, law professor at UC Hastings College of the Law and coauthor of “What Works for Women: Four Patterns Working Women Need to Know,” told the Los Angeles Times that “companies need to research the biases that prevent women from getting ahead and devise ‘interrupters’ – instead of single training sessions, companies need to make systemic changes.”

His parting caveat – “we must level the playing field for women by supporting their startups and removing the hurdles that are thrown in their way. Parents must inspire their daughters to step forth and take their rightful role in the innovation economy.”

You go girl!

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/women-in-tech-industry-still-facing-career-challenges/feed/15 tips for turning attendees into brand advocateshttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/5-tips-for-turning-attendees-into-brand-advocates/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/5-tips-for-turning-attendees-into-brand-advocates/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 18:02:42 +0000Robin Lickliterhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38985... Read more]]>Live events give brands the chance to interact with valued customers in person, which humanizes their brand experience. These face-to-face interactions also create memorable experiences that keep consumers connected and invested in the brand long past the actual event. More importantly, live events provide the ultimate level of customer service. Known as proactive customer service, brands can give customers a real-time platform through which they can express their needs.

But organizing an event that leaves your audience motivated and committed to your brand takes strategic planning and thoughtful execution. Here are a few best practices you can follow to leave a lasting impression on attendees.

Get highly personalized and high-touch

Don’t just give attendees an ordinary, expected experience. Go above and beyond to delight and thrill customers by bringing your brand attributes and personality to life in a meaningful way. These touchpoints don’t have to be large, flashy, or expensive. They could include a personalized note, a small, hospitality-focused amenity in the hotel room, an arrival rejuvenation station with fresh fruit and juices, or an information station that anticipates attendees’ needs. From the moment an attendee arrives to the event to the post-event follow-up survey or thank-you note, be thoughtful — but most importantly, be authentic.

Humanize the brand by making executives accessible and transparent

Giving your audience access to executive management or key leaders that they normally wouldn’t be able to interact with helps humanize the brand and make it more approachable. From macro experiences like keynote addresses to micro engagements like fireside chats or meet and greets, being truthful about the challenges the company encounters and sharing successes will result in attendees perceiving the brand as trustworthy and human, deepening brand connections.

Share customer success stories

Detailing customer success stories at your live event will inspire trust and help attendees connect with other customers on a personal level. Success stories can be shared in various content formats, from on-stage delivery to more intimate peer-to-peer meetings, and they should include obstacles and explanations of how the partnership between that customer and your brand helped overcome those and ultimately drive their business. Communicating the authenticity of the brand through the eyes of your customers greatly establishes credibility.4. Deliver the most important brand message of the year. Using your live event as a vehicle to reveal exciting news about the brand will build suspense and help attendees feel more involved in the brand’s future. All live experiences are, in theory, opportunities for press announcements. Product launches, new releases of established products, company direction announcements, new offerings, and new management news can all be incorporated into your event content, providing audiences a VIP-style “first look” engagement.

Deliver the most important brand message of the year

Using your live event as a vehicle to reveal exciting news about the brand will build suspense and help attendees feel more involved in the brand’s future. All live experiences are, in theory, opportunities for press announcements. Product launches, new releases of established products, company direction announcements, new offerings, and new management news can all be incorporated into your event content, providing audiences a VIP-style “first look” engagement.

Integrate social to amplify live

Social and word-of-mouth brand advocacy is critical in a world where product and service reviews by consumers are more powerful than descriptions provided by the brand. At the very least, make social platforms part of your event experience by developing an event hashtag or event-specific app. This provides attendees with a real-time vehicle to amplify their voice and experience, and it also enables the brand to monitor customer reactions and adjust the event accordingly.

By connecting with attendees on a personal level and tailoring the experience to their interests, you can start forging customer relationships that truly matter. Winning a new customer costs more to the company’s bottom line than retaining an existing one. That means that the organic growth of these brand-loyal customers saves you money while it improves your business.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/5-tips-for-turning-attendees-into-brand-advocates/feed/07 simple ways to fit LEARNING into a busy schedulehttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/7-simple-ways-to-fit-learning-into-a-busy-schedule/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/7-simple-ways-to-fit-learning-into-a-busy-schedule/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 17:05:23 +0000Bethany Simpsonhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38975... Read more]]>tl;dr: We're all maxed out, time-wise. In order to learn new things, both for the present job and the future, it will take, for some of us, not finding more time to learn, but creating an environment of learning in everything we do. Here are some tools that can help.

I think most of us would agree that ongoing learning is critical to our work productivity, not to mention our future career potential. Learning also helps us to find meaning in our personal lives. All well and good, but it can be hard to make the time to read and study when we’re already juggling a full work schedule, as well as family and other important commitments.

Today’s digital tools can help us to do two important things: take advantage of pockets of time that might otherwise be used less constructively, and weave ongoing learning more effectively into our work and home routine.

The following list covers some resources I’ve gleaned from colleagues, and used to help grow my own skill set. During a lunch break, waiting for an appointment to begin, or on a Saturday afternoon, it's good to know that learning resources are available on-the-fly. Ideally, this list the start of a conversation. How do you fit learning into a busy schedule? Give us your ideas in the comment section.

1. Podcasts and audio books. If you have a commute, podcasts are your secret weapon. Grab your earbuds, and add three or four favs to your smartphone app feed (my preferred podcast app is “Instacast.”). You might consider Leo Laporte’s “This Week in Tech,” some of the Stanford courses on iTunes U, or any of these.

We would love to know your favorite podcasts. List them below.

Everyone has probably heard of Audible, the Amazon-owned audio books company. It's great for those new business books you know you won't have time to sit down and read, but could find time on the treadmill to listen to. (A new sync feature lets you pick up your Kindle where you left off, if you own both formats.) Another great find, if you're feeling the need to be enriched by the classics, is Librivox.org—an enormous library of free audio recordings of public domain works from authors like Chekhov, Thackeray, Doyle, Twain, and many, many more. It’s an audio reader’s paradise.

If I listen to podcasts and audio books while driving, working out, cooking, cleaning, or getting ready in the morning, it’s not hard to fit an hour of listening into the day.

2. Say yes to one webinar per week. If your inbox is like mine, you receive multiple invitations each day to industry webinars. Don’t just delete them. Read the titles and presenter lists, and regularly register for something relevant to your job. It’s worth it to invest the time—I’ve come away understanding new concepts, found some new ideas, and received a deeper understanding of emerging technologies.

3. Take your team with you. Learning alone is great, and yet you often learn faster working with others. Create an environment that encourages learning. If you receive an invitation to a webinar or industry breakfast, invite a colleague to join you. If you're the boss, consider setting the tone by finding a local event with great group rates, and bringing everyone! If the location allows, grab a round table during the afternoon, and have the team talk about what everyone's learning. (If you’re in the San Francisco area, check out the ad:tech "Discovery Pass.")

Find a local event with great group rates, and bring everyone! If the location allows, grab a round table during the afternoon, and have the team talk about what everyone's learning.

4. Let someone else do the hard work for you. theSkimm is a daily e-newsletter that summarizes a few of the day’s most impactful news stories into easy-to-understand bites. 90% solid writing, 10% subtle snark. It's one of the only recurring emails I read every day, and a clever, concise way to keep on top of news events.

5. Taste test topics on your tablet. One of the coolest benefits of reading on a digital device is that you can download free book samples. Whether the book is $.99 or $99.99, you're getting the first 5-10% of a book to preview, which is often enough to give you an overview of a business topic (I’ve appreciated knowing the basics of Six Sigma, negotiation strategies, business model generation, and responsive design web coding.) Digital textbook rentals are also available, so you don't need to register for a class to keep up with what's going on.

Also, if you haven’t tried it yet, Oyster is like Netflix, for books. They don’t have everything, but they do have an immense library of the serious Dummies books ("for selling," etc.). At $10/month it’s worth a try, even if you're not a big reader.

6. Let the algorithms do the work for you. If you’re not already using a news aggregator, I recommend trying Feedly. It’s easy to use, with a simple, clean interface. Add your favorite content sites (e.g., Ars Technica, The New York Times, Venture Beat), then skim or deep dive as you flip through pics + teasers. And don’t just add the serious stuff. Make sure to include inspirational sites like 99U andFubiz. (The art series “Flying Houses Part II” is great brain food.)

7. Learn by watching TV. (Well, videos.)Lynda.com is another massive resource—an online library of over 3,300 video courses (and growing) that can teach anyone the big software programs. Some of the videos (and courses) are free, giving you the opportunity to sample topics before committing. Otherwise, membership starts at $25/month. It’s an incredibly quick way to increase your skill level with things like Photoshop, Excel, video editing, Google analytics, wordpress, and hundreds of other topics. My preferred method is watching on a mobile device.

Lynda.com is a go-to site for people hungry to invest in skills that will amplify their current role, move them into new areas of business, or let them gain expertise in a hobby (like ProTools). And the instructors are stimulating, so their courses arealmost like watching TV. (Imagine what binge watching here could do for your career?)

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/25/7-simple-ways-to-fit-learning-into-a-busy-schedule/feed/0How agility will set you apart from the competitionhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/24/how-agility-will-set-you-apart-from-the-competition/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/24/how-agility-will-set-you-apart-from-the-competition/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 20:46:43 +0000Agata Smieciuszewskihttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38970... Read more]]>It used to be that the same great strategy would result in a competitive edge for a long time. Today, however, the most successful companies are the ones that adopt a more agile approach.

At the 2015 iMedia Brand Summit in Amelia Island, Florida, Amanda Setili, author of "The Agility Advantage: How to Identify and Act On Opportunities in a Fast-Changing World," described how these newly agile companies use data strategically to pinpoint customer behavior and utilize it most efficiently. Marketing is at an intersection of change, and marketers need to be aware of new technologies, new ways of interacting, and micro-segments.

Agility is the ability to identify new opportunities and capitalize on them quickly. In today's changing marketing landscape, new technology will always be right around the corner. Although it's impossible for anyone to constantly be on top of all changes, the way you approach a new idea is crucial to your success. Reacting to a new stimulus the same way your competitors do will keep you running alongside them. To pull ahead of the herd, you have to think differently and swiftly.

The interactions between companies and consumers has also changed. Many times, consumers want to be more involved and hands-on with products. This includes customer collaboration, contributing original content, a new sharing economy with apps like Uber and Airbnb, and frequent personalized conversations. Micro-segments have also changed the game by addressing niche cultures, and opening the door to customization and localization.

It's also important to remember that organizations must strike a balance between consistency and agility, Setili urges. Identify the opportunities as they arise, and make sure you're making the right decision for your company. As an example, Airbnb identified the opportunity for people to rent out their homes. The company loves the problem that they're solving for their customers, and everyone benefits. Another example is Petsmart, a company that identified a small population of consumers that wanted to buy animal clothes. This has become a booming industry, and Petsmart was around from the beginning.

Setili gives the following advice for companies looking to become agile.

- Think like an explorer

- Develop multiple alternatives

- Assemble a diverse team

- Experiment constantly

- Communicate these ideas organization-wide

With these tips in mind, you can always be pulling ahead of competitors and jumping on the right opportunities for your brand.

“How can brands create effective content that drives conversion?” asked Carlos Gil, digital strategist and the moderator of the content-focused master track. What ensued was a lively discussion, with plenty of audience involvement.

Some conclusions proved rather universal. Brands are strapped for resources -- time, money and talent. To create content, they rely on a combination of in-house talent and agency partners -- partners being the key word. “I see the agencies as an extension of my team,” said Billie Goldman, partner marketing manager at Intel.

Doug Robinson, CEO of Fresh Digital Group and the panel’s only agency representation, noted that an agency partner will challenge brands’ notions of creativity and help push the envelope.

Other topics proved more polarizing.

Real-time marketing

The panelists and audience members were divided on the effectiveness of real-time marketing. Kasey Skala, head of digital and social at Solo Cup, declared it’s often poorly executed and unnecessary. “Brands are trying to score in these short spans. It’s lazy marketing,” he noted. “We as an industry love to talk about it, but I don’t want to talk to marketers -- I want to talk to consumers.” (This sentiment scored him a hug from audience member Adam Kmiec, senior director of mobile, social, and content marketing at Walgreens.)

Others argued that when the right moment strikes, a brand can benefit from joining a real-time discussion. “Real-time marketing, when done correctly, allows you to engage with a larger audience,” said Amy Rose, director, integrated media, at Brown Shoe. But this doesn’t mean brands have to comment on every cultural happening, she noted.

“To be effective, marketing needs to feel genuine,” said Goldman. “We’re campaign-centric. If something happens that is relevant to my current campaign, I am going to take advantage.”

The practice isn’t without risk, though. The need for speed makes it easier to err.

When to say, “I’m sorry”

The panelists discussed the best way to handle negative feedback, or worse -- outright backlash. When we invest millions in a well-intended message, the notion of scraping an ad because of a few outliers feels extreme. Panelists suggested creating a plan for potential crisis in advance -- and remembering that the customer isn’t always right. Sometimes it’s best to ignore the issue and wait for it to blow over. In other situations, you may need to take ownership of the gaffe, apologize, and move on.

Emerging social platforms (i.e., the Snapchat debate)

Robinson maintained that brands targeting Millennials need to be on Snapchat. “Win loyalty now because Millennials are going to grow up,” he said. He argued that brands should get in on the ground level because the platform “isn’t going anywhere.”

Other panelists argued that there’s not enough data to support investing in Snapchat just yet, and that brands shouldn’t feel pressured to have a presence on every emerging social platform.

“I’m OK with being second to market if that means I’ll do it better than the person who was first,” said Skala.

This doesn’t mean that marketers should shy away from trying new things. The panelists maintained that they are open to taking risks -- creatively and strategically, as long as those risks can be measured.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/24/the-great-content-debate-creativity-vs-measurability/feed/0Marketers Should Have a War Room Mentality Beyond the Big Gamehttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/24/marketers-should-have-a-war-room-mentality-beyond-the-big-game/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/24/marketers-should-have-a-war-room-mentality-beyond-the-big-game/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 17:10:44 +0000Assaf Henkinhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38960... Read more]]>The Big Game is a great example of the convergence of TV and digital media strategies, further bridging the TV-online divide. NBC reported that the 2015 Big Game attracted a U.S. television-record of 114.42 million viewers, and more than 1.3 million people watched the game through NBC's web stream.

Many marketers and marketing technologists, myself included, were in “war rooms” across the country alongside clients and partners ready to respond, create and activate digital media based on the public’s reaction to TV spots, digital engagement, and other game-day festivities on and off the field.

A war room is the nexus of everything most marketers experience in their career – intensity, strategizing, risk taking, immense satisfaction when everything goes right and upset when things go awry.

My recent war room experience affirms the future of digital marketing is contingent upon brands making data-driven decisions that drive media activation based on real-time information and insights. Immediate action is required by marketers to keep up with consumers’ evolving multi-screen behaviors. Forrester Research’s analysis of the state of digital marketing predicted this shift toward real-time activation in 2014 stating that advertisers “must deliver immediate value to earn brand loyalty.”

Lisa Donohue, Chief Executive Officer at Starcom USA, recently spoke at the IAB Leadership Conference, emphasizing the vital nature of data and meaningful content working together for both paid and earned media opportunities. She called it, “code plus culture.”

Doing real-time marketing well will take commitment from all sides of the industry – agency, brand and technology partner. Some first steps we will need to take together include:

Monitor your audiences’ real-time interests leading up to campaign launches. Do the research and see what story the data begins to reveal. This way you can continuously update your marketing plan, creative assets, and media mix to reflect the most current audience behaviors and drive increased return on ad spend. Having the right audience insights will help make the ultimate digital marketing decisions that create a positive ripple effect. Neglect research and planning based on real-time and historical data and the “Oreo moment” will fade as quickly as it arrives.

Examine the data presented by your partners and actively test technology. Do not wait until it is too late in the campaign cycle. I cannot stress this enough. The power of real-time marketing lies in how well technology enables strategies to be deployed when it matters most. Testing for every possible scenario allows you to go confidently into a campaign launch and provide reassurance that technology will perform under pressure. The last thing any marketer wants is a great idea to fail because of execution.

Cultivate cross-team agility so that creative development, targeting, delivery and real-time reporting coincide seamlessly. The future success of digital marketers will be determined by how well we can respond under a swift pace of change, especially in a war room scenario that can have up to 70+ people. Establishing an environment that is conducive for teamwork, rapid-fire, cross-functional communication and comfort is just as important as all the other planning essentials.

Technology advancements enable the marketing and advertising industries to move forward and adopt the war room mindset in everyday practice -- new tools, dashboards and infrastructure make real-time activation easier and more process-driven. But we cannot rely on technology alone; the human element is just as important, which is why the war room experience is so insightful.

Marketers will see major improvements across KPIs by leveraging data-driven strategies and activation while intentionally monitoring consumers’ interests, interactions and reactions like we do during the Big Game for our everyday efforts. If we align digital marketing with these interests in real-time, our media efficiency will concurrently improve as we optimize brand experiences across all channels and cross-device behaviors.

The proliferation of digitized content and data has provided us the ability to understand what constitutes prime consumer moments -- understanding how they want content delivered, when they want to view it and interact, and most importantly, how they react in a moment to organic and branded content, at any scale.

Being able to monitor, gather data from content consumption across sources or screens, and understand what the data is telling us creates a smaller feedback loop between user and marketer, introducing great opportunity for genuine engagement. Real-time and historical data allow us to discover actionable brand insights that enhance campaigns and provide a roadmap for all marketing initiatives.

We are not waiting for the future of real-time marketing to arrive. It’s here. Are you ready?

Marketers have enjoyed a long love affair with lingo and inside speak.

It's easy to throw around terms like PPC in meetings and assume, typically correctly, most in the meeting will understand.

But customers are now seeking guidance on everything from data privacy to the Internet of Things (IoT) and it may be up to marketers to help them understand.

It's easy to fall into the trap of speaking as we speak to one another, instead of really articulating what the customer or prospect needs to understand in order to not only consider a brand's offer, but to eventually gain long-term loyalty.

What does this mean for marketers?

Marketing starts way before it used to, and prospects often discover brands in ways we can't track, such as word-of-mouth referrals or the scary-sounding "dark web." People are seeking information on how to solve issues, understand what's happening next or just what their friend is posting about on social media.

Education about products should be in the greater scheme of a customer's life. This means marketers must understand not only who their customers are but how they travel through the customer journey. Mapping the customer journey is a start, but marketers have to work across functions and break down silos within an organization to make this truly effective.

Marketing is a big term. In some organizations, the wall between marketing and sales is still insurmountable. These walls have to come down to create a seamless experience for the customer.

Lack of relevant knowledge can derail the journey. Customers seek different types of education at different points in their journey. Offering the right help or video tip at the right moment could make a big difference.

Some brands seem to think using front-loading offers and then letting customers fend for themselves is the way to go.

Software companies, technology gadgets and even home goods seem to think the customer doesn't need them after purchase. But take a page from gaming companies and they offer tips and upgrades and help along the way. They understand their customers will grow with them if they offer the right education and support.

When was the last time you took a look at your customer's true journey and found places to support them along the way? How can tools like Vine or Pinterest or YouTube help educate your customers? Home Depot does an exceptional job offering Do-It-Yourself (DIY) videos of 2-10 minutes on YouTube. Sephora offers explicit instructions on Pinterest.

Education is now part of the job whether marketers are ready or not. Help your customers get more out of their life with your brand.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/24/how-customer-education-is-vital-to-your-marketing-strategy/feed/0The key to building a great brandhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/23/the-key-to-building-a-great-brand/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/23/the-key-to-building-a-great-brand/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 21:04:29 +0000Agata Smieciuszewskihttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38917... Read more]]>Back in the day, advertising was simple. Companies paid for spots on TV that translated directly to revenue. Consumers trusted the messages that were crafted for them, and everything worked smoothly.

Today, the cycle doesn't work that well. At the 2015 iMedia Brand Summit in Amelia Island, Florida, Questus' co-founder Jeff Rosenblum spoke about how consumers no longer believe or even pay attention to ads that are forced onto them. A new generation of content consumers is here that don't want their needs and desires force fed to them.

This is not necessarily bad news for brands, as long as you're willing to adapt. According to Rosenblum, the brands that are succeeding are the ones that follow a simple technique: empowerment over interruptions.

The brands that are doing it right are quickly gaining loyalty and birthing evangelists that are far more influential than unwanted targeting.

Rosenblum spoke about Patagonia, an outdoor clothing company that has succeeded in building real relationships with its customers. The brand has mastered the concept of magnets over megaphones -- the idea that if make your product compelling enough to attract consumers, you don't have to resort to interrupting them.

Truly successful brands will look at their product and ask "How do I help people get more out of __?" Another example is Fender University, an online portal that teaches, entertains, and helps guitar owners with many facets of owning the instrument. If you provide something of true value, you have the opportunity to turn your customers into digital-enabled brand evangelists

Don't build tools for sharing -- create reasons for sharing. Focus on improving your product and the product experience. If your website is outdated and hard to navigate, how does that reflect on your company?

Focus on empowering people to make smart purchases by putting the emphasis on your own media. The more evangelists you have, the less ads you need to buy, and the more successful you'll be overall.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/23/the-key-to-building-a-great-brand/feed/03 tips for embracing digital transformationhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/23/3-tips-for-embracing-digital-transformation/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/23/3-tips-for-embracing-digital-transformation/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 19:30:36 +0000Jacqueline Liskhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38911... Read more]]>New technology and users' changing behaviors have dramatically altered the way marketers find and communicate with their target audience. But understanding and adopting new tactics can prove challenging, especially for large organizations. At the iMedia Brand Summit in Amelia Island, Florida, Chris Cox, senior manager of global digital marketing at The Hershey Company; Chris Crayner, SVP, integrated media and digital at Universal Orlando; and Adam Kmiec, senior director of mobile, social and content marketing at Walgreens, shared their experiences effectively leveraging new technology, social channels, and real-time data in a panel moderated by Jeff Rosenblum, co-founder and partner of Questus.

Their tips for staying ahead of the customer and competition without disrupting the organization include choosing the right tools, recruiting the right talent, and effectively communicating key data-based findings across all levels of the organization.

Choose the right tools

Cox advised marketers to resist the temptation to try every new channel and tool. Rely on metrics to determine what’s working and scale accordingly. "Sometimes fewer better bets is the solution," he said. Additionally, be willing to customize your approach for your different products and target audiences. "It’s not going to be a 'one-size-fits-all' approach," he noted.

"Don't get distracted by the shiny new object," agreed Crayner. "It has to make sense and make dollars and cents."

Rely on, and share, data

The unprecedented depth of data at our fingertips is useless if we don't understand how to analyze it and take informed actions based on the findings. "Democratize the data," urged Kmiec. "Every team member needs to understand it, or it will be tough to understand their role."

Let all groups across the organization access the same metrics, and use these metrics to better understand your audience and market more precisely.

Create a culture of innovation and transparent communication

Crayner and his team strive to hire individuals who demonstrate proven expertise and a broad set of interests -- "T—shaped" people. "It’s great for your company’s creative development to have top talent as well as curious, elastic minds," he said.

The panelists suggested recruiting optimistic, forward-thinking people, and allowing digital natives to lead creative ideation sessions. They’ll often lead the team to experiential concepts that lend themselves to social.

Additionally, when discussing data and new technology, promote effective communication across all levels of the organization. It’s easy to get bogged down with buzzwords and jargon. Don't hide behind technology.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/23/3-tips-for-embracing-digital-transformation/feed/0Elevating the Customer Experience Through Email and Social Channelshttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/20/elevating-the-customer-experience-through-email-and-social-channels/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/20/elevating-the-customer-experience-through-email-and-social-channels/#commentsFri, 20 Feb 2015 19:56:58 +0000Willie Penahttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38904... Read more]]>While 92% of annual customer service interactions are phone-based, more and more customers are choosing to contact customer service over e-mail and social media channels. With over 3.9 billion active email accounts at the end of 2013, and another billion predicted by 2017, it’s no wonder that 60% of consumers prefer to contact customer service over email. Similarly, 99% of brands have a Twitter account, and 72% of customers expect a response to complaints within the hour.

It’s clear that companies need to step up their email and social customer service channels in order to reach their customers in their customers’ preferred manner- West Interactive lays out how to do it.

Email

First, build a custom contact form that allows your customer to click specific concerns so that their questions will be filtered according to subject matter. One in four email customer service inquires receive a misleading answer, so work with a copywriter to make sure that your answers are clear, professional, and in your brand’s tone. An ambiguous answer can make your customer confused and frustrated.

You should also set up an automatic reply or confirmation email that acknowledges that your customer’s inquiry has been received; in this message, be clear about your expected response time, but make sure to keep it realistic. Most consumers believe that a response within 24 hours or less is acceptable, so don’t make promises that you can’t keep.

Social Media

Customers who contact companies over social media often find themselves frustrated with a lack of response; in fact, 59% of questions and complaints on Twitter went unanswered. Fix this by searching for questions and complaints surrounding your brand and then treating and tracking the requests just like you would over any other platform. Make use of software that re-routes a Twitter message (based on brand name with and without “@”) to a staff back-up if it goes unanswered within a certain time-frame.

Customers also want quick responses when they contact customer service over social media; 42% of consumers expect answers to questions within the hour! Unfortunately, only 36% of customers report having their problems effectively solved over social media in a timely manner.

To improve your speed and rate of response on social media, create a dedicated social media customer service handle. This strategy has been shown to improve response time by 43%, double the total rate of response, and de-clutter brands’ main pages. You can also dedicate a part of your customer service team to social media.

The drawback is that the people who are closest to a problem are usually too invested to identify the underlying issues and potential solutions. Plus, when you only invite the usual subjects, you’re vastly limiting your scope of ideas.

Instead of taking this general brainstorming approach, adopt an ideation process to generate innovative solutions. Take into account the collective input of the people involved in a project, and draw in the perspectives of “wildcards” — those who don’t have a stake and can offer unbiased opinions.

The key is assembling a group of people who are as diverse as possible. Once you have a team with diverse interests and backgrounds, you can follow these rules to extract the best ideas:

1. Make the Phrase “Yes, But” Off Limits

During typical brainstorming sessions, someone will present an idea for a solution, and someone else will immediately respond with, “Yes, but we tried that before, and it didn’t work.”

Instead, encourage your team to build on one another’s ideas by responding with “Yes, and,” then adding their own thoughts. You can practice by asking the team to discuss something unrelated, such as plans for the evening, and require that they add to others’ ideas by beginning their ideas with “Yes, and.” This approach takes practice, but it’s worth it. Deferring judgment is critical to ideating. Sometimes, the craziest ideas are at the root of innovative solutions.

This doesn’t mean you should undermine the importance of vetting great ideas. Just save your judgment until it’s time to choose a solution so every idea has the opportunity to blossom.

We recently held design thinking sessions for clients and employees in Dallas, Chicago, and New York City. We Googled “creative meeting space” plus the city name and found many options, including Catalyst Ranch in Chicago. If you’re confined to a conference room, give it some energy with music, interesting decor, and a different furniture configuration (or no furniture at all).

Part of creating the right environment is making sure people feel comfortable expressing their ideas. Throw out some ridiculous ideas of your own so others know it’s OK. The traditional brainstorming adage that no idea is a bad idea is wrong — some are terrible. Just follow the “Yes, and” rule, and the responses will always be supportive.

Do your first round of ideation. When all team members have exhausted their ideas and written them on sticky notes on the wall, say that you’d like to do it again — but this time, all ideas have to cost at least $1 million. For the next round, require that all ideas get them in trouble with their boss, and perhaps the next one has to have an element of science fiction.

Add whatever constraints you’d like. What’s interesting is that these constraints are actually liberating. They allow everyone to step away from the norm and present a few wild ideas. It’s amazing how many times the final product has at least an element of one of the crazy ideas.

4. Mobilize Your Team

If you’re following a design thinking process, you do empathy interviews before ideation. For that critical step, you’re naturally mobile, moving to wherever your users are.

I did a design thinking exercise for an airline and San Francisco International Airport. My teammate and I walked miles getting the best interviews from a variety of travelers. If we had stopped after gathering data, we would’ve lost momentum. Instead, we went straight to our studio and met with other teams to begin ideation. We remained standing — even pacing and sometimes jumping — to keep our energy up. There is a time for rest and deep thinking, but it’s not during group ideation.

Rather than sitting down, have your team stand. They’ll be more engaged when they’re standing, and the energy and excitement in the room will naturally build. Doing this will also reinforce the feeling that everyone’s ideas are equally valid, regardless of a person’s role or background.

For more tips on ideating revolutionary concepts, read “Creative Confidence” by David and Tom Kelley. David is the founder of the Stanford University d.school, and Tom is a partner in IDEO, which designed the Apple mouse. Their ideas vastly influenced the way we approach innovation and design thinking.

As a marketing leader, it’s on you to lead effective ideation sessions. By bringing in a few new faces and creating the right environment, you can inspire breakthrough ideas.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/20/throw-out-your-boring-brainstorming-routine-and-start-innovating/feed/08 Marketing Truths about Snapchathttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/20/8-marketing-truths-about-snapchat/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/20/8-marketing-truths-about-snapchat/#commentsFri, 20 Feb 2015 16:35:07 +0000Tom Edwardshttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38898... Read more]]>Snapchat is deliberately distancing itself from the social platforms that have come before it. With a shift from a creation to consumption model, the roadmap on how best to leverage Snapchat is clear.

Here are eight truths that marketers need to understand about how Snapchat views itself — and the ideal approach to maximizing the value of the platform.

1 - Snapchat is Not a Social Network. The Snapchat team has made it clear that it does not consider itself a social network. Instead, Snapchat is positioning itself as an ephemeral communication and consumption platform. This is a key point to consider when defining an approach to maximizing the platform.

2 - Attentive Audience. Snapchat boasts 50 million users in the US with a primary demographic of 14-28 years old. The average user frequents the app 14-22 times per day. It’s clear that Snapchat considers its platform as the “new TV” for this demo. From an attention and eyeballs perspective, driving views with this demographic is a key benefit of the platform.

3 - Consumption vs. Creation. Initially, Snapchat was a 1:1 content creation platform. Snapchat viewed the native phone camera as a competitor. With the recent shift with the Our Story offering and the new editorially-led Discover Channels, consumption will be the dominant behavior on the platform. The focus on more forms of original content will further support the position of driving views at scale.

4 - Organic Reach. The decline in organic reach on social networks such as Facebook has been a big topic over the past year and half. Snapchat has been direct that the platform is not optimized to support brands organically. Instead, they recommend that brands align their advertising around contextual topics and events vs. personification of the brand narrative with the hope of organic reach.

5 - Targeted Advertising. Snapchat’s advertising model is an opt-in model that is contextual and relevant vs. highly targeted. This is a similar approach to Buzzfeed and is the antithesis to Facebook’s highly targeted approach. This also means that alcohol brands are limited on the platform as targeting and age-gating are not currently an option.

6 - Physical to Digital. One of the other benefits and opportunities for brands on the platform is to connect physical events to an expanded digital audience is through Snapchat’s Our Story offering. With the ability to geo-fence and filter content, and align contextual brand advertising, Snapchat is creating more content for consumption that’s built on peer-to-peer audience sharing.

7 - Direct Response vs. Views. Snapchat’s value to brands is as an awareness driver vs. direct response platform. Snapchat views its platform as THE engagement platform of the 14-28-year-old demographic and it’s comparing its ad pricing to traditional GRP’s.

8 - Editorial Integrity. With the launch of Discover, Snapchat now provides daily editorial content to expand the scale of content on the platform. Each publishing partner is committed to a daily edition of content. This edition is also aligned with contextual advertising. The ad pricing is set by Snapchat and the publisher partner.

Snapchat is currently in the spotlight and there’s significant interest in leveraging the platform. Snapchat should be viewed as a contextual media platform vs. a social network that creates organic equity. The size of the audience and frequency of engagement cannot be ignored. If a program’s objective is to drive reach and create awareness, then Snapchat can play a key role.

Tom Edwards is EVP for Strategy & Innovation/Digital at The Marketing Arm.

Create campaigns. Think of Campaigns as seasonal promotions, when you want to drive harder for revenue, and year-long advertisements running in the background. Therefore you might have a Christmas, Valentines and Thanksgiving campaign over some three week period, driving hard for conversions, running on top of a year-long “awareness building” campaign.

STEP TWO

Set your location targeting and use your analytics report to see the geographic sources of your website audience.

STEP THREE

Create ad-groups. How do you define Ad-Groups, ought they be based on product category or creative type (e.g. text-ads, display ads, video ads). The better question is on an ad-groups report, do you want to see the performance of products or do you want to see the performance of creative types. What is the more important metric? Citing a personal example, the retailer only have one product category so naturally the better metric is creative types because an ad-group report showing individual items will be unwieldy. But for a general merchandiser, creating ad-groups by product category will yield a powerful ad-group report.

STEP FOUR

Choose Keywords. Use the website as your starting point and let the keyword planner scan the website to come up with meaningful keywords. Also be sure to take the products in your POS system and upload them as keywords.

STEP FIVE

Create text ads. Use dynamic insertion variables in your text ads, so that the keywords appear in your text ads on the fly.

STEP SIX

Link your Adwords account to your Analytics account.

STEP SEVEN

Use remarketing, which is the targeting feature that shows your ads only to people who have been through your website. Turn on your remarketing right away, it also requires tagging your website with new retargeting tags, because it takes a minimum of 100 people for the remarketing function to kick in. And surprisingly, this can take some time. Create custom remarketing targeting groups such as those who made a purchase, those who left without purchasing, and so on.

STEP EIGHT

Create display ads. Create what are called “dynamic insertion display ads” which takes images and text of the merchandise from your website and tries to match them best it can to the things people are searching for.

STEP NINE

Set a budget. You need to ask the client what they can afford to bear. Any recommendation you offer ought to be based on the revenue from the website in the past and take a percentage share off that. Adwords spending ought to be able to use what is available to grow the business, even if your initial budget is small. Totally new money from outside your revenue source will be more like gambling not investing. If you budget is small you will have to forgo a year-long awareness building campaign for just those seasonal promotions. The rest of the year you can building awareness using your social media account.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/18/tips-for-trafficking-in-adwords-for-e-commerce/feed/0Farewell Q&A with NY Times Ad Columnist Stuart Elliott (Part 2): What I Saw at the Revolutionhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/17/farewell-qa-with-ny-times-ad-columnist-stuart-elliott-part-2-what-i-saw-at-the-revolution/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/17/farewell-qa-with-ny-times-ad-columnist-stuart-elliott-part-2-what-i-saw-at-the-revolution/#commentsTue, 17 Feb 2015 17:03:07 +0000Rick Mathiesonhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38886Content marketing may get a lot of buzz these days - but it's as old as advertising itself.

In part two of my conversation with longtime New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott, we continue to talk about how social media has paradoxically fueled growth in television viewership - especially for events like the Super Bowl.

But as part of this wide-ranging farewell Q&A with Elliott - who retired in December after nearly 25 years of covering advertising for the Times - we get into sponsorship advertising, as well as so-called content and video marketing.

Surprise: None of this is future-forward at all. Indeed, it's a return to the golden age of advertising. But while it sideswipes the problem of ad-skipping technologies and an ever-expanding universe of digital distractions, it comes with some considerable challenges of its own.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/17/farewell-qa-with-ny-times-ad-columnist-stuart-elliott-part-2-what-i-saw-at-the-revolution/feed/0The Perfect Small Business Marketing Toolhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/17/the-perfect-small-business-marketing-tool/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/17/the-perfect-small-business-marketing-tool/#commentsTue, 17 Feb 2015 15:53:17 +0000Anna Johanssonhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38883... Read more]]>The internet is saturated with content, and your business needs to find a way to stand out. In 2015 – as in years past – the infographic will be the favorite tool for many. With engaging graphics, relevant statistics, and a unique, creative flare, infographics are becoming the top choice for content marketing for a single reason: consumers love them. Online buyers absolutely can’t get enough of infographics and find them compelling.

The Value of Visual

As more data is collected and research studies are analyzed, it’s becoming apparent that consumers prefer visual marketing pieces to text-based content. In fact, it’s worth noting that the brain processes visuals some 60,000 times faster than text. Combine that with the fact that 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual and it becomes clear that the future of marketing lies in visual stimulation, not black words on a white background.

While videos certainly have their place, not everyone has the time to watch one. Neither is it always appropriate to watch a video. On the other hand, infographics are visual and always appropriate. That’s why small businesses like yours need to start taking them seriously.

Characteristics of a Successful Infographic

While everyone is creating infographics, not every infographic does a good job of engaging the viewer. In order for an infographic to be successful, it needs to be:

Unique. You can’t reproduce an existing infographic and expect to extract any value from it. Infographics need to be unique in both their visual layout and the information and statistics they provide. Don’t use a predesigned template. While they are cheaper and easier, savvy consumers can tell the difference between a basic template and a unique design.

Relevant. Is the information you’re providing relevant to your target market, or are you missing the mark? You can’t create an infographic on just any topic and expect it to benefit your brand. Instead, you need to build unique infographics that speak to the value proposition of your business. For example, if you’re in the business of web design, an infographic that explains the best ways to build a website would be valuable. Stick to your niche and avoid straying too far away.

Attractive. You can have the best statistics in the world, but they won’t be very valuable if your infographic isn’t visually stimulating. An attractive infographic uses simple colors, beautiful pie charts, and compelling images. This infographic on produce and local foods is a great example of simple, yet attractive.

Shareable. An infographic needs to be shareable to be successful. While a certain number of people will see the infographic on your blog or website, the total value is realized when it starts getting shared across various platforms and websites. The two best ways to do this include embedding a “Share it Now” button below your infographic, and posting it on social media.

Visual. A mistake many businesses make when creating an infographic is using too much text and not enough visual. The point of the infographic isn’t to overwhelm the reader. You want to provide just enough text to inform them, but their focus should be drawn to the visuals.

How to Create Valuable Infographics

When creating an infographic, you can’t just take any approach. You need to develop a strategic plan that allows you to maximize your available resources. In particular, you must do the following:

Start with your goals in mind. Once you get started on actually designing and creating an infographic, you’ll find yourself getting pulled in multiple directions. You’ll come across a statistic that leads you one way, while you really want to implement a visual which takes you another. The only way to ensure you make good decisions is to set clear goals and keep them in mind as you go through the process.

Work closely with your designer. Unless you have a background in design, you’ll probably be outsourcing your project to a designer. When you hire your designer, ensure they’re comfortable with you working directly alongside them. You need to have a say in what happens and don’t want to risk any major mistakes happening along the way.

Ask for feedback. Throughout the design process you should solicit feedback. Find out what people think and make adjustments accordingly. You can often be blinded by your own preferences and don’t want to end up with something nobody else likes.

Your Best Marketing Tool

Once you finish your first one and begin reaping the benefits, you’ll likely discover that infographics are incredibly valuable. In fact, it’s possible that they could become your go-to marketing tool in the months ahead. While it’s easy to get carried away, remember that your focus should be on producing high quality infographics, not lots of them. If your desire to produce tons of infographics ever compromises quality, it’s time to take a step back. However, once you find that happy medium, you’ll know you’re in the right place.

It's no longer enough to think of list building as just email capture. Instead, email acquisition is actually a customer acquisition strategy. Old tactics, like purchasing an email address list, simply won't work. What will work is modal lightbox pop-up combined with a series of triggered, personalized welcome messages.

Modal Lightbox Acquisition

Regardless of how you feel about pop-up lightboxes, the simple fact is they work. We've seen retailers grow their email list by 30% or more in a matter of weeks using this tactic. And these aren't random email addresses – they're subscribers with the highest likelihood of becoming loyal customers.

If you're considering implementing this strategy, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Test the timing and location of the overlay. Try triggering it three seconds after a shopper visits your site's homepage, 20-30 seconds on specific product pages, and even test an exit modal, which detects when the visitor is about to close the site and triggers at that point to re-engage them.

• The overlay should include an email capture form, but may also include additional personalization fields, such as product or brand preferences or the ability to sign up for more than one email list.

• While offering an incentive to sign up is a common practice, it isn't necessary.

• Your first welcome message should be triggered upon subscription. Welcome messages have some of the highest open, click and conversion rates, and the event-triggered email will ensure it reaches customers at the time when they are most likely to buy.

• Modal lightbox acquisition has the added benefit of increasing the reachable rate of your onsite visitors; meaning you'll be able to send remarketing messages, such as browse and abandon and shopping cart abandonment campaigns, to more customers, as you'll have a higher percentage of their email addresses.

Welcome Series

On average, welcome messages have four times the open rate and five times the click-through rate of broadcast campaigns, meaning customers are more engaged and likely to take action on these messages. These automated email marketing messages are triggered by the customer's behavior and received at the right time.

Triggered welcome emails can simply thank subscribers for signing up or can deliver the discount or offer promised in the lightbox that was used as the opt-in incentive. However, don’t stop there. These messages have the highest likelihood of being read and acted on, so take advantage of this opportunity by creating a series of messages.
Here are some things to consider as you create an effective automated welcome series:
• Don't think about how many messages to include; instead, think about what messages you want to convey and then determine how many emails you'll need based on the content.

• In most cases, it makes sense to only send new subscribers welcome messages and suppress them from the regular email messages during this time. Only begin sending new subscribers broadcast campaigns when the welcome series ends.

• Think about the timing of the welcome messages and carefully monitor results so you know the right cadence. If your series contains three messages, the first could be triggered upon subscription, with the other two going out in 24 hour intervals. If your series is longer, you could send two messages per day – one in the morning and one in the early evening. We found that first- time shoppers are more likely to place the all-important second order within the first week as long as the experience is positive, so don't feel like you need to wait too long between messages.

• Trigger the first message to go out immediately upon subscription. It will not only reach subscribers when they're most engaged and interested in shopping for your products, but it will also confirm the email addresses, ensuring that invalid addresses aren't added to your list.

• Try to be as personal as possible. Your messages can include items that the subscriber browsed on your site, an invitation to update personal preferences in your preference center, local store information, top selling merchandise based on gender, etc. Remember, customers expect to be treated as individuals, and you'll be getting off on the right foot by customizing the message to each subscriber.

• Update these messages quarterly. It is easy to set up automated messages once and then forget all about them, as they run in the background. But you should have a process in place where you review your triggered campaigns quarterly to be sure you aren't sending information that is outdated.

Converting Subscribers into Customers

Combining modal lightbox acquisition with a triggered welcome series is a strategy that will greatly increase both engagement and revenue. And when the messages are personalized, including information on gender, produce or category browsed, subscribers will feel an immediate connection to your brand. Each message of the series is another change to engage subscribers with new content and messaging, giving you the opportunity to capture additional customer data that you can use to tailor future messages.

]]>http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/16/leveraging-email-acquisition-techniques-to-grow-your-email-list/feed/2The Internet of Things, Exposedhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/13/the-internet-of-things-exposed/
http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/02/13/the-internet-of-things-exposed/#commentsFri, 13 Feb 2015 22:38:16 +0000Anna Johanssonhttp://blogs.imediaconnection.com/?p=38874... Read more]]>The “Internet of things” (IoT) is the newest buzz phrase to emerge from in tech and business arena. The recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) displayed a variety of devices that are changing how we will use our homes and offices, and many other tools to connect to the Internet and network these capabilities.

With faster Wi-Fi promised in the coming year and spreading rumors of the advent of 5G, we are getting closer to a world filled with devices designed with the principle of IoT in mind. This means a wider array of items and services is soon going to be available to take advantage of networking capabilities.

These items run the gamut from virtual reality to networked home utilities, weaponry, and 3D printing.

How IoT got a gun

TrackingPoint, an Austin startup that designs and develops precision-guided firearms, is making use of Google Glass to enable shots from behind cover. The company also recently announced ShotView, an iOS and Google Play app that allows a hunter to stream video from the gun to anyone in the world.

The 338TP precision-guided firearm, which debuted at CES this year, lets novices make mile-long shots, even on targets moving 30mph, with greater precision than any skilled marksman.

This terrifying application of consumer technology and military hardware has many worried about gun safety and the repercussions of broad public access to firearms.

In any case, it ushered in a new era in weapons manufacturing this year.

What are the implications for personal privacy?

Concerns over a different yet related kind of safety, namely your privacy, are driving a vigorous debate over the potential uses of IoT technology. Some fear it will permit unprecedented access to consumers’ most personal information.

Networked home and personal devices appear to heighten the risk of security breaches that compromise personal data such as credit cards, Social Security numbers, and other identifiers. Manufacturers are struggling to address these concerns.

Why would anyone want a Web-enabled bracelet?

Some worry the trends in consumer electronics design are making commodities out of the fundamental aspects of humanity. Market researchers already glean data worth billions of dollars from Internet search information, but gaining access to data related to the daily habits of customers is a significant and potentially frightening ability that could soon be real.

While some manufacturers have suffered due to flawed security, others are using their reputation for reliability and safety to market their IoT suite of devices and application development platforms. This very strategy may revive BlackBerry as it attempts to reorganize itself.

While critics have decried the banality of some IoT “inventions” (often little more than trinkets with a Wi-Fi transmitter), the latest wave consists of a greater number of more utilitarian devices.

The “smart home” concept is leading to devices that network many of the routine tasks of home ownership and automate them in order to reduce time consumption. It isn’t quite The Jetsons, but it means not having to concern yourself with manual setting of the thermostat, monitoring electrical usage, and many other past duties of home ownership.

The new entertainment possibilities

Virtual reality (VR) technology is drawing a lot of attention again -- this despite the past failures of all prior attempts to release commercially viable gaming platforms that rely on virtual reality simulation.

The Oculus Rift is the most widely known VR device, and the company that developed it is currently devising a strategy to market a consumer-level model for broad distribution. Whether or not they succeed, their product has provided a proof of concept for VR entertainment.

Though still a far cry from the “holo deck” on Star Trek, the Oculus Rift has gained notoriety from reviews and news articles written about it for more than a year. The apparent realism of the experience, and the relative comfort of the device when worn, set this one apart from previous VR offerings.

The potentials for this sort of development are very exciting. Many in the industry are hoping Oculus Rift will enjoy great success and foster the development of further VR entertainment.

What consumers may expect from IoT

E-commerce platforms, which are designed by companies such as Magic Dust, are changing how consumers get what they want, and even shape what they purchase. Instant access and same-day delivery are the newest salvos in the war over new e-commerce markets.

While IoT may be intimidating to some, it’s driving the development of nearly every device and consumer product that will be released from 2015 onward. Future generations may not worry at all that their pen or pencil is Wi-Fi enabled … if they’re even using them anymore.